Upright Go – a fresh and rather unusual wearable device – recently met and surpassed its Kickstarter goal, bringing the project as close to reality as possible in the world of crowdfunding. Upright Go is a relatively small device described as a posture trainer equipped with a vibrating motor. It’s meant to be placed over the spine on the user’s upper back and it’s designed to improve the wearer’s posture by vibrating whenever the user is slouching.
Upright Go is equipped with a small sensor which works alongside a learning algorithm to detect subtle changes in posture. When detecting harmful posture or “screen slouching”, the device sends vibration feedback to the user as a reminder (or warning) to hold the back straight. In other words, Upright Go is a habit-forming device designed to help wearers be more aware of their posture when sitting in front of a computer screen, driving, walking, or standing. As the company states in the project’s description, a poor posture not only looks bad but can also lead to a variety of negative effects on the body and mind, not to mention back pain. Upright Go aims to prevent this and interestingly enough, it also comes with a tracking mode allowing the device to keep a record on the user’s posture throughout the day. This allows users to view how their posture changed over time and check their progress on a connected smartphone application. Upright Go is compatible with both iOS and Android OS, and it’s powered by its own battery rated for 8 hours of usage on a 45-minute charge. The device sticks to the user’s upper back through medical silicone stickers featuring hypoallergenic adhesive, lasting an average of 15 applications. There will be 5 stickers included in every Upright Go package and additional stickers will be available for purchase later on “at an affordable price”.
The Upright Go campaign already met its Kickstarter goal of $25,000 four times over, with 1,318 backers pledging a total of $105,206 at the time of writing. Nevertheless, the project has 42 more days to go and the Early Bird pledge is worth $59. However, the product will retail for $99 and has an estimated delivery timeframe set for June 2017. Each purchase comes with an Upright Go trainer, 5 soft stickers, a micro USB charging cable, and a travel case.
